Save money on football shirts

Replica football shirts aren’t cheap, and with the World Cup around the corner I’ve taken a look at how you can spend less on your official kit.

I’m a huge Crystal Palace fan, and I’ve been tempted a few times to upgrade to the new shirt, but the frequency in which the club (and all clubs to be fair) release a new design has put me off. There’s the home kit, away kit and then a third kit! And 12 months later, it’s out of date. I don’t think I’ve actually bought a new version of the shirt since my mid-20s.

Still, if you do want or need to update your shirt, or you’ve kids who are pestering you to get the latest version, then expect to pay more than you really should. £50 to £60 for an adult’s sports shirt really doesn’t justify the quality of the shirt. And the junior shirts aren’t much less. Plus there can be further costs on top!

But if you’re in the market for a 2018 England shirt, here are a few ways you can get the price down.

Watch me share these tips on Shop Smart Save Money

Shop around

The FA, so the equivalent of buying direct from the club, sells an adult shirt for £64.95 and a kids’ shirt for £51.95. Postage is an extra £4.50.

But over at Sport’s Direct you pay just £54.99 for an adult shirt and £39.99 for a junior shirt. A top saving. However, there’s also £4.99 postage on top if you order online.

Don’t pay for personalisation

If you want your new shirt personalised with a name and number then you’ll also pay extra – most of the time.

The FA adds £12 for a player and number, or for you to pick your own (max of 11 characters). Sports Direct adds £1 per character and £4 per digit. It get’s expensive!!

However, if you head to Nike, who manufacture the kit, there’s no extra charge! Yes, it’s more than a plain shirt at Sports Direct, but it works out cheaper with the addition. You can pick a selection of the current England squad, or if you want to add your own name there is a limit to eight characters. For adults this is £64.95 and for kids it’s £51.95.

A word of warning, if a shirt has been personalised you won’t be able to return it – so do try it on first in a shop.

Avoid the premium fabrics

You can actually get two versions of the new England kit, There’s a ‘breathe” version, which is the standard kit or a “vapour” version, which costs around £25 more. Are you a pro-athlete, or are you just wearing it to the pub? It’s just another marketing ploy to get you to shell out more. Avoid.

Buy an old kit

Unless you’re going to be buying a new kit every season or tournament, then whatever shirt you are buying will be out of date in 12 months. So why not just get last season’s in the sale? The 2017/18 Palace shirt was available for £20. Since the England shirts change every two years, these are harder to pick up than club shirts.

Or embrace the old styles and buy a retro kit. These still aren’t cheap, but seem to be selling for £20 or so less than the latest versions, and they let you embrace a bit of your team’s heritage. Kitbag seems to have a selection including Euro ’96 and 1990 World Cup for £34.99 before delivery.

I actually still have my classic 1997 Palace shirt, which incidentally the club has just reissued – and it’ll only cost £35…

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